Stocking and method of making the same



June 4, 1929. R. M. HOLDEN ET AL STOCKING AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed March 19, 192

Patented June 4.1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCE.

ROGER M. HOLDEN AND JOHN F. ROBERTS, F WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.- AS- SIGNORS TO HOLDEN KNITTING COMPANY, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, A

CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

STOCKING AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

Application filed March 19, 1928. Serial No. 262,813.

Our invention relates to stockings and has for its object to provide a stocking that is particularly adapted to be worn with rubber boots and other heavy outdoor foot wear,

by reason of the fact that a portion of the stocking is made with double thickness in order to fill up the space over the instep and around the ankle and to provide increased wear at the heel, While the toe portion of the stocking is made of single thickness so as to provide ample room at the toe.

In Patent No. 1,601,020 issued September 28,1926 to ourselves and Charles S. Holden,

there is shown and described a stocking adapted to be worn with a boot as described above and the present invention has the further object of providing a stocking in which the leg portion may be ofany desired length without being of double thickness as contemplated in the above mentioned patent.

The above and other advantageous features of our invention will hereinafter more fully appear, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which 1 Flg. 1 is a side view of a completed stocklng embodying our invention.

Fig. 2 is a view on a reduced scale of the length of tubular knitted material from which the foot of the stocking is made.

Fig. 3 is a view on the same scale as Fig. 2, of a length of tubular knitted material which 1s combined with a portion of Fig. 2 to form the completed stocking.

Referring to Fig. 2, a length of material generally tubular in form is produced by a suitable circular knitting machine with a toe portion 1 knitted in a plain rib stitch. That portion of the material extending from the line ab to the line 0-d is knitted with a portion 2 in plain rib stitch, while the other portion 3 of this section is knitted with a tuck stitch. In knitting the portions 2 and 3, successive continuous courses are knitted partially in plain rib stitch and partially in tuck stitch, and as the portions 2 and 3 come from the knitting machine, the fabric takes the form of an are between the lines ab and cd because of the fact that the tuck stitch I portion 3 contains only one half the number of stitches in the rib stitch portion 2 for a given number of courses, each tuck stitch therefore containing twice as much yarn as a rib stitch. The resulting fullness of the tuck stitches results in an arcuate form of the,

fabric at this'point. Another portion 4 extending from the linc-cd to the end of the plain rib stitch 7 piece is then knitted with a just as the portion 1.

As shown in Fig. 3 a second length of 1naterial is produced by a suitable circular knitting machine with portions 5 and 6 knitted with successive courses partially in plain rib stitch and partially in tuck stitch in the same manner as the previously described portions 2 and 3. The mixed stitch portions 5 and 6 extend from the lower end of this piece to the line e]", from which point a long leg portion 7 is knitted with a plain rib stitch. Due to the similarity of the stitches the tuck stitch portion 6 takes an arcuate form similar to the tuck stitch portion 3 so that the section of the second piece up to the line ef has substantially the same form of appearance as the intermediate section of the first piece between the lines a b and 0-03 respectively. It will be also noted that a portion 7 of the second piece is two or three times as long as the portion 4 of the first piece. The two separate pieces shown in Figs. 2 and 3 are then assembled by inserting the portion 4 of the first piece inside of the portions 5 and 6 of the, second piece and pulling the piece together until the lower end of the second piece lies on the line ab. The two ieces" are then joined together in any suita le manner as by stitching 8 at the upper end of the first piece and the lower end of the second piece as shown in Fig. 1. The toe portion 1 15 11 1611 closed in any suitable manner as by loop ng and in the preferred form of our 1nvent1on an elastic band 9 is placed around the leg portion near its top and secured by pulling down the upper edge of this portion 7 to enclose the band 9. The completed stocking then appears as shown in Fig. 1 from which it is apparent that the stocking will be of double thickness between the rows of stitching 8 while the toe portion'l and leg portion 7 are of single thickness. It is also apparent that the completed stocking approximates the shape of a human foot.

When the stocking form as shown 1n F g. 1 is used in connection with a. rubber boot or a heavy shoe for outdoor wear the double thickness of material around the heel and instep serves to fill up the space over the ina ceived in the toe of the boot orshoe. The

single thickness of the leg portion 7 rovides sufficient protection and warmth a ove the ankle so that the stocking can be comfortably warm with trousers that extend around the calf of the wearers leg. If desired the toe portion 1 of the first piece can be knitted from yarn of greater weight than the yarn which is used for the mixed stitch portions 2 and 3, thereby giving greater strength and warmth without the bulkiness which is desired around the instep, ankle and heel. Also, the rib stitch portion 4 can be extended farther beyond the line c+d than is shown in Fig. 2 in order to give a stocking of double thickness well above the shoe top but without extending up the whole leg.

From the foregoing it is apparent that by our invention we have provided a stocking having general characteristics of the stocking shown in the aforesaid Patent No. 1,601,- 020 with the advantage that it may be of any desired length with double thickness only at the portions of the foot where it is necessary.

We claim:

1. A stocking comprising separate lengths of tubular fabric, one received partially within the other to provide an instep and heel portion of double thickness, with the toe portion of the stocking of single thickness.

2. A stocking comprising separate lengths of tubular knitted material, one received partially Within the other to provide two layers of fabric around/the instep and heel, one of which layers terminates just behind the ball of the foot when the stocking is applied.

3. A knitted stocking comprising a length of tubular fabric with a plain rib knit toe portion of single thickness and an upper instep portion made with a tuck rib stitch and a second length of tubular fabric overlapping the first length with a tuck rib stitch portion registering with the tuck rib stitch portion of the first length and a plain rib stitch portion extending above the overlapping portions.

4. The method of making knitted stockings which consists in making separate lengths of tubular fabric, each having different portions of plain rib stitch and of plain and tuck rib stitch and then pulling a portion of one length within a portion of the other length to cause the mixed stitch portions to register with each other, thus producing a stocking having a single thickness at the toe and double thickness at the instep and a single thickness above the instep.

Dated this sixth day of March, 1928.

ROGER M. HOLDEN. JOHN F. ROBERTS. 

